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Raiders tight end Mychal Rivera celebrates his TD catch that gave his team the lead. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

The Raiders have had some big wins this season on their road back to respectability.

But Sunday’s 15-12 victory over the Denver Broncos was the signature victory of what the Raiders hope is a new era for the franchise.

On Sunday in Denver, the Raiders offense was nonexistent in the first half as the AFC West-leading Broncos took a 12-0 halftime lead on four field goals. It didn’t look good for a Raiders team that entered the game 5-7 and needed to go 4-0 down the stretch to have any hopes of getting to the playoffs as a wild card.

But the Raiders roared back over the final two quarters on two Derek Carr touchdown passes of 11 yards to Seth Roberts and 16 yards to Mychal Rivera, while also getting two points on a safety, when Benson Mayowa jumped on Denver center Max Garcia in the end zone, after Garcia had covered a fumble following a sack of Brock Osweiler.